When HoHoKam Park opened in 1977, it was the spring home to the Oakland Athletics.
The A's had called Rendezvous Park home since 1969 and continued to call Mesa
Arizona home after the finishing touches had been placed on the new ballpark.
Prior to the Oakland Athletics coming to Mesa, the Chicago Cubs had been the long
term tenant of Rendezvous Park from 1952 to 1965. The 1977 Oakland A's were
a sad excuse for a ballclub. The Yankees had taken most of the great Athletics
players like Reggie Jackson and

basically stripped the team. The only stars that the team had were in the pitching
department as the inaugural HoHoKam Park welcomed Vida Blue (who would go 14-19
on the season), and Dock Ellis (who would go 1-5 with a 9.69 ERA). That 1977
team would lose 98 games and the 1978 team would lose 93.